According to Statista.com educational apps are among three most popular Apple App Store categories of mobile applications, with almost 9% of share in September 2016. As information society users seem to appreciate the possibility to learn new things anytime and anywhere from their mobile devices, it is no wonder that more and more educational apps are created. So what an educational app should include? Check 5 must-have features.
GOOD CONTENT
The base of any educational app is the knowledge and the way it is presented. Think of the relevance to learning objectives and app’s adequacy for the target audience. For example, if you build an app for complete beginners, you will have to include an easy-to-understand descriptions and basic exercises.
Also, pay attention to the way you present the data and exercises. Keep it simple and accurate so that users can focus on what is really important to them.
PERSONALIZATION
The possibility of adjusting an app to users’ specific needs is extremely important when it comes to an educational app. This way users can easily check their level, monitor their progress and set their own goals.
If you do the personalization well, it will guarantee users’ engagement throughout the learning process, simplify acquisition of new knowledge and show the learner how to apply new skills to real-life situations.
INTERACTIVITY
One of the basic rules of learning new skills is that one can only learn something by heart when he does it himself. That’s why the most important feature of educational apps is interactivity.
If you teach foreign languages for example, it is best to prepare real-life scenarios in which users should choose or type in a correct answer. This way their level of engagement stays high and it allows to long-term information storage.
Don’t forget the meaningful feedback either. It plays a very important role in how the learners understand the subject and correct their mistakes.
SOCIAL NETWORK
Won’t it be wonderful to not only learn new subject, but also to show others how good you are and motivate yourself by seeing what your fellow learners have already achieved? A good educational app gives you these advantages.
People love to compete with others and as mobile devices are used mainly to search for information and connect with others, it is a very good idea to include a kind of social network in your app, that will help users motivate themselves by publishing their scores.
PUSH NOTIFICATIONS
Learning new subject requires time and effort so it is always good to remind a user about his resolution and motivate him to work further. Apart from social network, a good idea to do that is to use push notifications.
Although you may think that this is an invasive way of app promotion, many people actually likes to get meaningful push notifications from the apps they like. Remember though that this kind of ad should be used with user in mind and contain valuable, balanced reminders instead of intrusive and “pushy” promotion.
Want to create your own educational mobile application? Check how to pre-plan an app with our guide.
